thridde reson is this
¶ Ye seyn
/ if ye gou
erne yow by my conseil
/ it
sholde seme that ye hadde yeue me the maistrie
/ and the lordshipe
~ ouer your
persone
.
sir
saue your
grace
/ it is nat so
For if it were
so that no man sholde be conseilled
/ but oonly of hem that hadden
~ lordshipe and maistrie of his
persone
/ men wolden nat be conseilled so
ofte
115
For soothly / thilke man / that asketh conseil of a purpos / yet hath ~
he free choys / wheither he wole werke by that conseil or noon
¶ And
as to your fourthe resoū ¶ ther ye seyn þt the Ianglerie of wommen
hath hyd thynges that they wiste nogħt. As who seith / that a wōman ~
kan nat hyde that she woot
¶ Sir thise wordes been vnderstonde of wō-
men þt been Iangleresses and wikked /
of whiche wōmen / men seyn
that thre thynges / dryuen a man out of his hous ¶ that is to seyn
Smoke / droppyng of Reyn /. and wikked wyues /
And swiche wōmen ~
seith Salomon / þt it were bettre dwelle in desert than with a wōman
that is riotous
120
¶ And sir by your leue / that am nat .I. /
for ye haan
ful ofte assayed my grete silence
/ and my grete pacience .
And eek
how wel
/ that I kan hyde and hele thynges
/ that men og
ħte secreely
to hyde
¶ And soothly / as to your fifthe resoū / where as ye seyn /
that in wikked conseil / wōmen venquisshē men ¶ god woot thilke ~
resoū stant heere in no stede
¶ For vnderstoond now / ye asken conseil
to do wikkednesse /
and if ye wole werken wikkednesse / and your wif
restreyneth thilke wikked prpos / and ouercometh yow by resou and by
good conseil /
125
certes youre wyf / ogħte rather to be preised / than ybla-
med
¶ Thus sholde ye vnderstonde the Philosophre / that seith / In wik-
ked conseil / wōmen venquissħen hir housbondes
¶ And ther as ye
blamen alle w
ōmen and hir reso
ūs ;
I shal shewe yow by manye
ensamples
/ that many a w
ōman
/ hath ben ful good
/ and yet been
/ &
hir conseils ful hoolsome and
profitable
¶ Eek / som men han seyd ~
that the conseillynge of wōmen / is outher to deere / or elles to litel of
pris
¶ But al be it so / þt ful many a wōman is badde / and hir cōseil
vile and noght worth / yet han men founde / ful many a good wōman
and ful discrete and wise in conseillynge
130
¶ Loo Iacob / by good conseil
of his mooder Rebekka / wan the benysoū of Ysaak / his fader and
the lordshipe ouer alle hise bretheren
¶ Iudith by hir good cōseil
deliuered the Citee of Bethulie in which she dwelled / out of the han-
des of Olofernë / that hadde it biseged and wolde haue al destroyed
it
¶ Abygail deliuered Nabal hir housbonde fro Dauid the kyng
that wolde haue slayn hym / and apaysed the Ire of the kyng by ~
hir wit and by hir good conseillyng
¶ Hester / enhaunced greetly
by hir good conseil the peple of god / in the regne of Assuerus the ~
kyng
¶ and the same boūtee in good conseillyng of many a good
womman may men telle
135
¶ And moore ouer whan oure lord .
hadde creat Adam oure forme fader he seyde in this wise /
It is ~
nat good / to been a man alloone / make we to hym an helpe sembla-
ble to hym self
¶ Heere may ye se / that if that wōmen were
nat goode and hir conseils goode & profitable /
oure lord god of heue-
ne / wolde neuere han wrogħt hem / ne called hem / help of man ~
but rather confusioū of man
¶ and ther seyde oones a clerk in